England Your England

"As I write, highly civilised human beings are flying overhead, trying to kill me."

Written during the Blitz in 1941, England Your England explores the contradictions and resilience of English national identity. While Orwell’s love for his homeland comes through strongly, the essay is at the same time unfailingly clear-eyed about the nation's failings: entrenched social inequality, a dishonest press and a class system that only works for those at the top. He argues that despite deep class divisions and cultural eccentricities, ordinary English life—its habits, humour, and quiet endurance—forms a coherent national character.

England Your England is Orwell’s attempt to define English culture and the English people for the rest of the world, written at a time when he feared they might soon disappear.

Born Eric Arthur Blair, George Orwell (1903-1950) was a British novelist, essayist, and critic famous for his insightful social and political commentary. His personal engagement with real world issues imbues his work with a sense of social conscience that continues to resonate with listeners, and his two most famous novels, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, continue to captivate audiences worldwide.

Public Domain (P)2021 SNR Audio

Perfect narration.

Loved the understandable way in which complex situations in the country I love so much, is explained perfectly.